News, Notes, & Interviews

For the time being, London’s best kept secret is tucked away at the back of Centrefield Sports indoor complex. Come March 2012, however, Riley “Brock” Kjeldgaard will be down south, flirting with the feat of being the first Forest City resident since Adam Stern in 2005 to make a Major League Baseball (MLB) roster.

“Baseball is a game where you might not get an opportunity,” said Kjeldgaard, 25, the centre’s lead hitting instructor. “But, when you do you have to be ready. It’s all about timing and good fortune.”

According to information from Manzanillo’s Dominican Winter League team published on Licey.com, a truck struck Manzanillo’s Hummer on a highway in La Romana while Manzanillo was on his way to the Brewers’ new baseball academy. According to the website, Manzanillo, a right-handed power pitcher, suffered cuts and bruises on his right shoulder and was taken by plane to Cure International Hospital in Santo Domingo.

The White Sox are trying to move Thornton because he signed a two-year, $12M contract last season, and the back-end of their bullpen has gotten crowded with Sergio Santos and Chris Sale proving dominant. No need to pay a reliever $6M per year when he is not needed in the eighth or ninth inning. It’s just about finding a dance partner now on the open market.

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The issue is the asking price. In Olney’s report, he says the White Sox have been trying to move Thornton since July and has found no takers. Either none of the other twenty-nine teams in the league have a use for a mid-90s throwing lefty with four consecutive seasons with a sub-3.00 FIP, or the asking price has universally been deemed too steep. Obviously, the latter is far more likely.

If that asking price comes down a bit, it will be interesting to hear if the Brewers want to get involved in the fray. It would certainly make sense for the organization in terms of what Milwaukee has done in the past and falls in line with their 2012 goals for roster construction.

Jim also includes a note that Johnny Narron, the new Brewers hitting coach, played for the Appleton Foxes in 1975. He joins third base coach Ed Sedar, an Appleton Fox in ’82, ’83, & ’85, on the staff.

The 2012 Timber Rattlers Calendars arrived today. Somehow, a photo I took was included and is used for the picture in March. You will receive a 2012 calendar for free when you purchase a holiday ticket package.

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